Lawrence and Courtney Sharrett

Lawrence and Courtney Sharrett

Lawrence and Courtney Sharrett, along with their daughter, Julianna, are based in Sofia, Bulgaria serving in Bulgaria and Eastern Europe. Lawrence received his Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and a Master of Education from East Tennessee State University. Courtney is working on a degree in psychology and counseling from Trinity International University. Lawrence and Courtney both grew up in the Tri-Cities area of East Tennessee (Kingsport, Tennessee). They are members of First Presbyterian Church of Bristol, Tennessee, where Lawrence is continuing the ordination process with the Presbyterian Church.

Prior to marrying Lawrence, Courtney worked as an administrative assistant at her father’s dental office for thirteen years. After his undergraduate degree at King University, Lawrence worked for five years as a school teacher and basketball coach in the Bristol Tennessee City Schools before a transition to cross-cultural work with Athletes in Action in South Africa and then Bulgaria as a basketball player in Bulgaria’s National Basketball League for four seasons. Courtney and Lawrence have served as coordinators with Athletes in Action for Bulgaria by organizing cross-cultural, educational trips to the United States with Bulgarian athletes, coaches, and federation representatives, in addition to hosting American basketball teams in Bulgaria.

While completing his M.Div. with a cross-cultural emphasis at Trinity, Lawrence served as a pastoral intern at First Presbyterian Church of Deerfield, Illinois. This experience strengthened Lawrence and Courtney’s commitment to the local church and the potential of what healthy local churches can offer the world through the love of Jesus Christ.

The Sharretts joined TAP in 2014. As TAP Partners, they are exploring partnerships with schools and institutions, especially local churches and organizations, for a holistic approach to ministry as related to issues of social justice, leadership development, business development, and educational opportunities. Their ministry vision is to “Build Contextualized Flourishing Churches in Bulgaria and the Greater Balkan Region That Make Disciples of Jesus Christ.”